As a Tab S4 (Wifi) owner, I am generally content with the tablet. I don't care much for the pen, and wish the keyboard came included with the price, but I got in on the Black Friday deal 2018 and it's served its purpose well. For light work (emails and documents) and entertainment, it does it better than anything else I believe. (looking at you, 4:3 aspect ratio LCD iPad and whatever the newer ratio is) That said, it has some shortcomings that are hard to ignore and obvious improvements that Samsung may not considering making. As a consumer that still has a 1 in a billion chance that someone at Samsung is reading this, I would like to voice my requests for the upcoming Tab S7/S20, should it become a suitable replacement.
• Improve the Front Facing Camera (by a lot), add a Secondary Ultrawide Angle Shooter and move them both to the top right hand corner in portrait mode / top left hand corner in landscape mode.
The current completely centered setup found in the Tab S6 (and prior) stinks. It's fine for portrait video calls, but when you put it in the preferred landscape orientation, you know, when you're using the keyboard, it's positioned awkwardly low and makes for a very unflattering self-image. If you like emphasizing your chin and neck, it's great, but for looking professional, not so much. Moving it to the corner means it's more properly positioned for video calls and accommodates both landscape and portrait orientation, opposed to putting the cameras in the middle of the right side bezel, which then implies the tablet can only be used in landscape mode.
As for the camera sensors themselves, they need a massive improvement. No, not the sensors on the back. Really, you only need to include one, and that's for document scanning. The fact of the matter is, everyone has a smartphone, and smartphones tend to have better cameras. They are also pocketable and don't make you look silly when you use them. Stop focusing on improving the rear cameras and work on the front ones. Since tablets are superior to phones for video calls, the Tab S7/S20's camera system should be superior as well. It should have a main 12 megapixel sensor for recording 4k videos or high detailed video streaming and a just as good 12 megapixel ultrawide sensor for including more staff/employees for business conferences or family Skype calls. With cost as a consideration, I suggest using the sensor from the main sensor from the Galaxy S10 for the wide and the ultrawide sensor from the S20 since they both have similar sized sensors and thus similar sized microns. (I personally hate seeing the ultrawide get a worse sensors than the main shooter, so they should be on par here). These cameras will deliver better image quality and better lowlight performance for when you're making a video call at night, or in a dimly lit environment.
As for the rear shooter, who really cares? The old Galaxy S7 sensor would work fine for document scanning.
• Make a way better first party keyboard, on par if not better than the iPad's new "Magic" keyboard.
If I have to pay extra for it, and I know Samsung will charge unreasonable money too, it better be sturdy, adjustable, preferably backlit, and have a nice key-feel about it. I don't want any more flimsy cheap plastic garbage keyboards that you'd find on a $100 laptop.
• Add some more USB C ports.
There's no way Samsung would admit that removing the headphone jack on the Tab S5e and Tab S6 was a mistake, but at the very least, add more USB C ports, and make sure a couple of them are Thunderbolt compatible too. If you want people to consider the Tab series for any serious work, stop trying to copy Apple and start copying Microsoft. People have multiple peripherals they use on tablets, 2-in-1s and laptops.
• Work with companies like Adobe to get serious editing apps onto Android.
This should have been Google's job, but dropping the ball is in their DNA, so Samsung needs to step up in this regard. As is, we are missing desktop replacement apps on Android for the Adobe suite, like Premiere, After Effects, etc. If people are going to take Android serious for creative work outside of some photo and illustration editing, we need real apps to work with. The Snapdragon 835 on my Tab S4 has some serious power but little opportunity to leverage it with. If the tablet comes with the Snapdragon 865 with at least 8 GB (hopefully 12 GB) of RAM and UFS 3.0 storage, all that power will have gone to waste if it can't be used for something. Let's get some serious video and effects editing applications.
• Monthly security updates and more timely OS updates.
This whole "quarterly" security patch nonsense and "4 to 6 months after the flagship with the same hardware" OS updates nonsense has to stop. The Tab S7/S20 will be expensive, since the phones it accompanies are. There is no justifiable reason to not have consistent and timely security patches and applicable OS updates. iPads and Windows machines for far less get monthly security patches. Google implemented Project Treble for this exact purpose. I don't want any excuses. I want results.
• Don't get lazy with the screen. If the S20 can have 120 Hz and TRUE HDR10+, make it happen with the new Tab S7/S20.
One thing that really annoyed me with my Tab S4 was realizing the "HDR" branding was pretty much bogus. Yes, by some standard, it is HDR, but it and the Tab S5e aren't HDR10 or HDR10+ certified. That means, you can't watch true HDR videos on YouTube, and HDR content on Netflix looks really dim while content on Amazon Prime Video looks completely washed out and tinted. If I am going to consider the Tab S7/S20, it needs to be actually HDR10+ compliant like my Galaxy S20+, and it better have that nice 120 Hz refresh rate to boot.
• Make the battery bigger.
I didn't buy a Tablet because it's thin. I need to survive however long my day goes. Since the Galaxy S20 Ultra, A HOLDABLE SMARTPHONE, has a 5,000 mAh battery, there's no reason a TABLET over twice the size should only sport a 7,000 mAh battery. Make it bigger. I don't care if it adds a millimeter or two to the thickness or a few more grams to the weight. I'd rather have a Tablet go all day then be an expensive paperweight because it ran out of power.
You may be asking yourself why I am making these requests rather than just buying a Windows 2-in-1 or a proper laptop, and that is a fair question, so I will tell you: the latest Tab S series device is a fantastic portable multimedia device that always sports an unparalleled screen (compared to tablets and similarly priced PC's of the time. You can technically get a 4K Samsung-built AMOLED screen on $2k laptops now.), great speakers and optimized hardware for on the go usage. Laptops running full Windows need more juice, and laptops running Qualcomm ARM based chipsets have some compatibility issues with Windows apps that are used to x86, thus needing emulation which uses even more power. Point is, if you want the best portable light to medium work, best media consumption and smallest form-factor Tablet, you have to get the Samsung Tab S. Since that's the case, I want it improved.
Thanks for reading. Feel free to add to the list and share your thoughts.
